Monday’s letters: A citizen’s heroic act

On Nov. 28, a courageous act occurred in the Tampa Bay area. It was one that law enforcement professionals applaud and hope becomes more frequent. An ordinary citizen did the right thing and spoke up for the good of the community. When Delonda Walker, a manager at an Ybor City McDonald’s, walked up to a police officer inside the restaurant and handed over a gun, it led to the suspect in the Seminole Heights serial killings. The entire region was able to breathe again.

As the special agent in charge of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Tampa Bay office, I often stress the importance of "see something, say something." This serves as a reminder of what good can happen when you actually say something or do something. If not for the courage of Delonda Walker to stand up and reach out to that officer, the community of Seminole Heights would still be held hostage.

There was much speculation of whether reward money would be given following last week’s arrest. I can tell you that there was no hesitation from me or the FDLE. If not for Delonda Walker, a suspect in the killings would have continued to evade capture and potentially caused more terror to the citizens of Florida.

Tom Foy, special agent in charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Tampa

Intemperate comments

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn is spending too much time reading Trumpisms. Hopefully his comments — "Bring me his head" and "If guilty, put him to death" — will not prejudice the jury pool, causing legal problems.

Ed Cadden, St. Petersburg

Trump shares anti-Muslim clips | Nov. 30

Truth losing all meaning

The White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, defended President Donald Trump’s retweets of anti-Muslim videos using a line of reasoning that is at the very least disturbing. She said, "Whether it’s a real video, the threat is real."

Unfortunately, this pretty much sums up the administration’s view of the world and its grasp of reality. Whatever the president thinks and believes is fact, without regard to truth or even common sense. The threat is real, just not the one Sanders was referring to.

Dan Greene, Weeki Wachee

Student sues over Title IX rights | Dec. 1

Turn case over to police

While reading this article I had to wonder why law enforcement wasn’t involved. It appears that a serious crime, a felony, was committed and yet it was handled administratively. This sort of proceeding protects neither the accused nor the accuser. It’s time either to stop the kangaroo courts and employ the justice system or to sit down and shut up. Stop playing games.

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